Journo kidnappings no longer the story it once was  —  From BOB LAURENCE, TV critic, San Diego Union-Tribune: I'd like to offer a couple of possible reasons for the lack of attention given to the kidnapping of the two guys from Fox:  —  One is that, sadly, they are far from the first to be kidnapped, injured or killed.

Inhofe optimistic on Iraq  —  It's well on the way toward handling its own security, he says  —  U.S. involvement in Iraq has been incredibly successful and developments there have been "nothing short of a miracle," Sen. James Inhofe said Monday.  —  During his half-hour speech …

Iran ready for 'serious' nuclear talks  —  TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's top nuclear negotiator said Tuesday that Tehran was ready to enter "serious negotiations" over its disputed nuclear program but did not say whether it was willing to suspend uranium enrichment — the West's key demand.

Iran 'fires on Romanian oil rig'  —  BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A Romanian oil rig off the coast of Iran came under fire from an Iranian warship and was later occupied by Iranian troops, a company spokesman said.  —  The Iranians first fired into the air and then fired at the Orizont rig, said GSP spokesman Radu Petrescu.

Connecticut Groups Push to Remove Lieberman From Ballot  —  Critics of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's independent run to keep his job attacked on two fronts Monday, with one group asking an elections official to throw him out of the Democratic Party and a former rival calling on state officials to keep his name off the November ballot.

Point of No Return?  —  It is hard to think of a time when a nation — and a whole civilization — has drifted more futilely toward a bigger catastrophe than that looming over the United States and western civilization today.  —  Nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran and North Korea mean …

The Fertility Gap  —  Liberal politics will prove fruitless as long as liberals refuse to multiply.  —  The midterm election looms, and once again efforts begin afresh to increase voter participation.  It has become standard wisdom in American politics that voter turnout is synonymous …

Educators Question Absence of Evolution From List of Majors Eligible for New Grants  —  Like a gap in the fossil record, evolutionary biology is missing from a list of majors that the U.S. Department of Education has deemed eligible for a new federal grant program designed to reward students majoring …

Hezbollah sinks Australian warship  —  http://www.moqavemat.com - an Iran-based website run by the Hezbollah terrorist group - is running this picture (above) of what it claims is the Israeli ship it hit with a missile last month.  —  Now look at the Royal Australian Navy's picture below …

Buchanan Argues For Immigration Moratorium To Preserve White Dominance  —  In his new book, State of Emergency, Pat Buchanan argues for "an immediate moratorium on all immigration."  Why?  To preserve the dominance of the white race in America.  Buchanan explains on pg.  11:

CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS ON THE POWER TO TAX: This morning the D.C. Circuit decided a fascinating case holding that the Constitution does not permit the federal government to collect income taxes on compensation for a non-physical work-related injury not related to wages or earnings.

Washington Whispers  —  Don't laugh, but a loaner training kayak in the pool of the House of Representatives gym made the difference in President Bush's House victory for a pork-busting line-item veto.  "That's spot on," says Colorado Rep. Mark Udall, who helped talk 34 other Democrats into backing the measure 247 to 172.

Joe Rosenthal, Photographer at Iwo Jima, Dies  —  Joe Rosenthal, the Associated Press photographer who captured the enduring image of the American fighting man in World War II with his depiction of five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising a huge American flag over the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, died Sunday in Novato, Calif. He was 94.

Thousands of Marines face involuntary recalls  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Marine Corps said Tuesday it has been authorized to recall thousands of Marines to active duty, primarily because of a shortage of volunteers for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.  —  Up to 2,500 Marines will be brought …

Katrina  —  I watched the first half of Spike Lee's documentary on Hurricane Katrina last night.  Riveting and gut-wrenching.  If you get HBO, be sure to see it.  —  Among many things revealed by the storm was our ambivalence about federalism and the respective roles of state and federal government.

Who's the senator who wants spending kept secret?  —  The Washington DC Examiner Newspaper, The Examiner  —  WASHINGTON - A Senate staffer — who shall remain nameless here — must have awakened on the wrong side of the bed Monday morning.  Said staffer exploded in response …

Chad-free voting machines can be hacked  —  WASHINGTON - Our house just had a plumbing line break; it was a big deal because here in California, many houses are built on slabs, which means that you have to tear rooms up and jackhammer concrete to get to the lines and fix them.

Iraq security adviser says violence levels falling  —  TOKYO (Reuters) - The level of violence in Baghdad has fallen sharply since July thanks to troop reinforcements and the new government's efforts to reconcile warring Shi'ites and Sunnis, Iraq's national security adviser said on Tuesday.